Today, May 9, Russia is witnessing activities to commemorate the 78th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War. Traditional military parades took place in the east of the country, culminating in the celebrations with the grand military parade in Moscow.
A military parade was held in the city of Vladivostok, where crews of military personnel and students of military colleges passed along the central street of the city, in addition to convoys of modern military equipment and old vehicles from the era of the Great Patriotic War.
The parade on the occasion of Victory Day in the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the capital of Kamchatka, was attended by representatives of various armed forces units stationed in the region, including the marine infantry.
Military parades also took place in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Khabarovsk, Novosibirsk and a number of other cities in the east of the country.
The grand military parade to celebrate the 78th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War will be held in Moscow's Red Square at 10 am today (7 GMT), and Russian President Vladimir Putin will deliver a speech during the parade ceremony.
The parade in Moscow will be attended by a number of foreign leaders, as the leaders of Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Armenia and Kazakhstan arrived in the Russian capital yesterday.
This year, more than ten thousand personnel and 125 pieces of equipment will participate in the victory parade in Red Square, and it is expected that they will include "Tiger" and "Typhoon-O" armored vehicles, "S-400" air defense missile systems, and armored personnel carriers. BTR-82A, Iskander-M operational tactical missiles, Yaris mobile ground-based missile systems, as well as new Boomerang armored personnel carriers.
The festivities will end with fireworks at 10:00 pm.
"Memoirs of a Spy" A former French agent reveals how his country's intelligence penetrated the African continent
A former agent for France's General Security Directorate (DGSE) has published memoirs that document his missions in Africa and shed light on the troubled relations between France and its former colonies.
And Richard Folang (a pseudonym), the author of the memoirs entitled "The Spy: 44 Years in the General Department of External Security," which will be released on the market on the 11th of this month, spent ten years in the archives, three years in the Europe department, and twenty years in the "N sector" - service Africa in the General Directorate of External Security, including fifteen years in the Central African Republic, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
As part of his secret activities, Fulange kept dozens of photos that he included in his book, revealing the hidden face and turbulent relations of France with its former colonies, through a group of events that he witnessed or participated in and an actor in.
In an interview with the French newspaper "Le Parisien", the former French agent confirmed that he had witnessed the fall of Mobutu Sissoko's rule in the Congo in 1997, the genocide in Rwanda, and the details of the arrest of the jihadist Peter Sheriff responsible for the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Djibouti, in addition to He also worked as an advisor to the former president of the Central African Republic, François Bozizé.
Among these clandestine activities, he kept dozens of photos on his smartphone of a village in northern Benin, in a four-wheel drive vehicle at the Eritrean border and at the entrance to a CIA lounge — often incredible memories.
The client confirmed that France in the early 1990s controlled everything through its intelligence, but its actions did not please the new generation of Africans, and the image of Paris was damaged, on which the younger generations blamed it for everything that befell it, and it turned towards other countries such as China, adding: " Thus I witnessed the end of the Franco-African era.
Regarding a question about recruiting sources that provide intelligence with information, Fulange said: "If you want information about the political and security situation of a country, go to the police officers, know their families and friends, then determine whether they need money, a visa, or medical care for a member of their family, and let them get On that you will gradually get from them all the information you need.
" Back then when I was in my 30s, I didn't ask myself any questions. I was recruiting sources and gathering intelligence. Obviously we had everything under control. We had listening posts in countries. Much later I realized that was disgusting." This has damaged our image and contributed to the new African generation's rejection of today's France."
He continued, “This has been going on for long enough.. We know that France does not pay for its SUVs, but it supports authoritarian and corrupt leaders to defend your interests.. At the time of decolonization in the 1950-1960s, we basically said: Well, you will become sovereigns, but you are strategic material that we will continue to exploit."
And he added, "Most African leaders agreed, and France did not know how to manage this decolonization process. Only military policy matters," noting that development aid was caricatured.
At the end of his interview with the French newspaper, the former client stated that retiring from a spy job made him feel bored and depressed, but he added, "Fortunately, I have two grandchildren whom I take care of with my wife."
Former American intelligence: Zelensky is a good actor who will leave the Ukrainians to their fate in two weeks
Former CIA analyst Raymond McGovern said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will flee the country after defeating the Kiev forces with their counterattack on the Russian army.
McGovern added in an interview with Judging Freedom on YouTube: "Zelinsky is a good actor, he plays the role of a defender who will stand with his country until the end, but within two weeks, after the defeat of the Kiev forces, he will be transferred to live in a luxury villa in Cyprus, and the Ukrainians will be left to face their fate alone."
He pointed out that the coming months will be disastrous for the Ukrainian forces, pointing out that Zelensky is just an American puppet that follows the instructions it receives.
He hinted that the result of the failure of the Ukrainian counterattack would be the defeat of the Ukrainian forces, but if the counterattack did not start, there would be other arrangements.
McGovern concluded that the next phase of the conflict would include a cease-fire and peaceful negotiations, noting that the United States at that moment would support a peaceful cessation of the conflict.
Serbian President: Every Western politician I meet is asking me to impose sanctions on Russia
The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, announced that every representative of the West, when meeting with the Serbian leadership, demands that it immediately join the sanctions against Russia.
"I'm so used to it every meeting with them, having a 'good afternoon' right away about anti-Russian sanctions," Vucic said.
He noted that although he did not promise not to support the sanctions against Russia imposed by Western countries, Serbia is still able to comply with the decisions of the National Security Council in March 2022 and not join the sanctions.
The Serbian president said earlier that he was tired of Western officials' demands for Belgrade to join the sanctions against Russia.
Macron to Berlin despite the strained relations Will Germany save France's nuclear energy?
It is expected that the French President will travel to Berlin next July, on a visit that comes amid tensions in the relationship between the two countries, with the aim of mobilizing German support for the inclusion of French nuclear energy in the green energy list approved by the European Union.
According to Western media, it is expected that French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Berlin on a state visit next July. He appointed him to discuss many files with his counterpart, German Chancellor Olaf Schultz, on top of which is the French nuclear energy, which Paris is seeking to mobilize support for its inclusion in the list of clean energy sources from the European Union.
While this visit comes amid the continuing tension between France and Germany, which erupted after Macron's harsh criticism of the German government, regarding its measures to enhance purchasing power and address high levels of inflation. On the other hand, Berlin today is staunchly opposed to nuclear energy, which raises questions about Macron's ability to bring about a change in the German position in this regard.
Visiting under tensions
And according to what was reported by the French Press Agency, President Emmanuel Macron will visit Berlin next July. This is at the invitation of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in order to "honor the close friendship between the two countries in the sixtieth year of the Elysee Treaty" on bilateral relations.
Despite this, this visit is the first of its kind for the French president after the dispute that arose between him and the German government last October. On that day, on the sidelines of the summit of European Union leaders in Brussels, Macron did not hesitate to heap criticism of his eastern neighbor Germany, which he accused of isolating itself from its continental surroundings.
Germany's rejection of the decision to cap oil prices, and its unilateral announcement of a support package for energy prices of 200 billion euros, is what drew the indignation of France, which considered that Berlin should have consulted its allies about such huge expenditures that could distort the European internal economy. “I think it is not good for Germany, or for Europe, for Germany to isolate itself,” Macron said at the time, adding that, “Certainly, we must maintain our unity,” in an implicit accusation against Berlin of destabilizing this unity .
These verbal altercations later resulted in the postponement of an annual meeting between the German and French governments in Paris, which indicated at the time the widening rift between the two central powers in Europe. That meeting was compensated for by a meeting between the two leaders, which was also not devoid of signs of tension, as Macron canceled a press conference he was to hold with Schultz.
What does Macron hope for in Berlin?
In Berlin, French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to discuss European and international politics. This is in addition to an official banquet at Bellevue Palace, which will be hosted by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on July 3, according to Politico, quoting three officials familiar with the visit's arrangements.
According to the American site, the German and French sides will discuss several sensitive files, finding common ground to unify the position on the financial rules of the European Union, and the position of the European Union regarding the increasing geopolitical tensions between the United States and China, in addition to the programs for developing military industries in which the two countries participate.
While the most sensitive and urgent file, for Paris at least, is the file of nuclear energy, which seeks to be included in the European Union’s list of green energy sources, within the framework of the Brussels Energy Transformation Program by 2035, and to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
France has made huge investments in developing and expanding its capabilities to produce electricity using nuclear energy. The country currently has about 56 nuclear plants, and leads the European production with a total of 61 gigawatts. President Macron previously announced , in February 2022, a program to build 6 new nuclear plants by 2050, the first of which will enter service in 2035.
Does Germany save French nuclear power?
It is difficult to say whether there is a Franco-German consensus on the inclusion of nuclear energy in the European list of green energy sources. For several factors, the most important of which is the position of Berlin and its federal government against this energy, as Schultz has sought, since assuming power in the country, to make the divorce with nuclear electricity a success.
And in mid-April, Germany announced the closure of the last three nuclear power plants in the country, breaking with an era that lasted about 60 years. The decision to leave was very popular, as there is a strong anti-nuclear movement in Germany, due to the constant fears of a conflict similar to the Cold War, in addition to the disasters associated with this energy source.
France had repeatedly urged Berlin to abandon its anti-nuclear stance. Earlier, last October, the Ministerial Undersecretary for the Program for the Enhancement and Renewal of Nuclear Energy Capabilities in France, Joel Barr, criticized the German position: "I do not understand Germany's position because I do not believe at all that until the middle of the century they will be able to implement a carbon-neutral strategy based on only on renewable energy sources.
On the other hand, France had exercised the same opposition to Germany's quest to pass synthetic fuels as a clean source of energy in European regulations, in order to save the auto industry, which represents one of the vital nerves of its economy. At a time when Berlin was negotiating to persuade its European counterparts to accept its demand, Paris stood against it, and French Transport Minister Cleon Bon even warned of what he described as the "risks" of that type of fuel.
In addition to this, the protectionist approach pursued by the French government arouses the resentment of Germany, as Paris has for a long time blocked progress in the completion of the "Medcat" gas pipeline, which connects the Iberian Peninsula with northern Europe. Germany is counting on this pipeline to be an alternative to "Nordstream 2", after Russian gas imports became unsafe, by enabling it to benefit from green gas and hydrogen coming from North Africa.